Cohn, Jacob. The Royal Table - VWC: Faculty/Staff Web

BASES OF THE DIETARY LAWS 31
is the law of the cattle, the fowl, and every living thing
which is in the water, and every life which creeps on the
earth; that you may differentiate between the clean and
the unclean, between the living things which may be eaten
and between the living things which may not be eaten"
(Lev. XI, 45-47). Abstinence from forbidden foods in-
volves a recognition of God's special kindness toward Is-
rael in redeeming it from Egypt, and forming it into a
nation. If Israel is a people with a historic task, it owes
its ability to play its role in human affairs to that special
nationhood which God bestowed upon
of this great truth, Israel acknowledges
it. Ever conscious
it in adherence to
the dietary laws, which, like circumcision, are a symbol of
the covenant between God and His chosen people.
The ritual method of slaughter also has a national sig-
nificance. As has been pointed out above, 48 the ritual
method employed in the slaughter
of sacrifices is retained
in killing ordinary meat. Now the Temple is the supreme
symbol of Israel's oneness. Though each tribe had a separate
political territory, and led its own political life, the
religious life was the thread which served to unify them
into one nation. The Temple served as a material sym-
bol of Israel's integrity, and in its worship, the trinity of
God, Israel, and the Torah was acknowledged. But even
when it is not possible to offer sacrifices, the meaning of
the Temple in Jewish life may not be forgotten. "And
when the place which the Lord your God will choose to
rest His name there, will be far from you, you may slaughter
of the cattle and the sheep ... in the manner that I
have commanded, and you shall eat it in your gates to
your soul's content . . . But strengthen yourselves not to
eat the blood ... On the earth shall you spill it as water"
a Supfft, MP 24.